Send & Receive Issues

Fix Power Automate Approval Emails Arriving Late or Not at All

Kushani Nimanthika Sep 28, 2026 869 views

Question details

Users are experiencing inconsistent email notifications for successful Power Automate approval flows, with some approvers receiving emails late and others not receiving them at all.

How to Fix Power Automate Approval Emails Arriving Late or Not at All

Product: Microsoft Power Automate
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Waiting for email notifications to be delivered after a Power Automate approval flow runs.
Observed behavior: The Power Automate flow indicates it ran successfully, but the automated approval emails are inconsistently delivered, delayed, or entirely missing.

Before you start

Verify your Power Automate run history to ensure the approval flow actually triggered and shows a 'Succeeded' status before troubleshooting email delivery.

Solution 1Recommended

Check Outlook Folders and Microsoft 365 Service Health

Ensure the approval emails are not being routed to spam folders and verify that Microsoft Exchange services are operating normally.

Automated emails sent by Power Automate are sometimes flagged by standard email filters. Additionally, backend server issues at Microsoft can cause widespread delivery delays.

Log into Outlook on the Web

Open your browser, navigate to Outlook on the web, and sign in with your organizational credentials. This ensures you are viewing your mailbox directly on the server without local synchronization delays.

Search the Junk and Filtered Folders

Check your 'Junk Email', 'Other' (if Focused Inbox is enabled), and any custom filtered folders for emails originating from 'flow-noreply@microsoft.com' or 'makepowerautomate@microsoft.com'.

Review Service Health

If you have administrative access, log into the Microsoft 365 Admin Center and navigate to 'Health' > 'Service health' to check for any active Exchange Online incidents causing email delays.

Check Outlook Folders and Microsoft 365 Service Health

Solution 2

Investigate IT Firewall and Mail Filtering Policies

Recent organizational security updates, such as new firewall rules, often block automated notifications from Power Platform.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why do my Power Automate emails take so long to arrive?

Delays are typically caused by heavy mail server loads, backend Exchange Online service degradation, or complex routing and filtering rules set by your organization's IT department.

Can spam filters block Power Automate approvals?

Yes. Automated emails sent from Power Automate (often from flow-noreply@microsoft.com) can be flagged as spam by strict organizational quarantine policies or end-user Junk filters. Always check your Junk Email folder first.

Where can I check if Microsoft 365 is experiencing an outage?

Your tenant administrator can view the Service Health dashboard in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center to check for ongoing incidents related to Exchange Online or the Power Platform that may be delaying emails.

Outlook & Email Problems